Whatdoyoudowhenyouneedtolooksomethingup?Gotothelibrary?Openanencyclopedia（百科全书）?ClickontotheInternet?ThesedaysmostpeoplegostraighttoWikipediatheonlineencyclopedia.Buthowreliableisit?

ThereisnodenyingthepopularityandusefulnessofWikipedia.Itattractsasmanyas78millionvisitorseverymonthandthesiteisavailableinmorethan270differentlanguages.It’soneofthemostcomprehensiveresourcesavailablewhichincludesalmostalldetailsfactsandinformationthatmaybeconcerned.It'sgotmuchmoreinformationthananordinaryencyclopedia.Thesiteisupdatedonadailybasisbythousandsofpeoplearoundtheworld.AnyonewithanInternetconnectioncanlogonandeditthecontentsoraddanewpage.Andyoudon'tneedanyformaltraining.

Ofcoursetherearesomecontrols.Wikipediahasateamofmorethan1500administratorswhocheckforfalseinformation.Andmaintargetsforharmfulcomments(suchaspoliticians)areoff-limitstopublicediting.Butwithmorethan16millionarticlestokeepaneyeonitisn'teasy.SowhileWikipediabenefitsfrombeingconstantlyupdatedwithinformationfromallovertheworldit'salsoopento“vandals”(破坏他人财产者).

Someofthedamageiseasytonotice.OnepersondrewdevilhornsandamoustacheonMicrosoftchairmanBillGates’photowhileanothereditedGreekphilosopherPlato’sbiographytosayhewasa“Hawaiianweathermanwhoiswildlybelievedtohavebeenastudentof‘BarneythepurpleDinosaur’andtohavebeendeeplyinfluencedbyhisdogCutie”.

Butotherthingsarehardertospot.Themostcommonformofvandalisminvolvesaddingtinyitemsoffalseinformationintothebiographyofafamousperson.UnbelievablysomeofthismisinformationhasappearedinnewspaperswithTheDailyMailTheGuardianandTheIndependentallhavingfallenvictimtothedirtytricks.ForexampleinanarticleaboutBritishcomedianSirNormanWisdomonenewspaperclaimedthatheco-wroteDameVeraLynn’swartimehitThere’llbebluebirdsovertheWhiteCliffsofDover.Hedidnosuchthing.AndinanotherarticleitwasreportedthatTVThemetunecomposerRonnieHazlehursthadwrittentheSClub7’shitReach.Onceagainnottrue.

SoifyouaregoingtouseanyinformationfromWikipediamakesureyoudouble-chec